Bread and Butter

A Novel

Random House, Inc.Kitchen Confidential meets Three Junes in this mouthwatering novel about three brothers who run competing restaurants, and the culinary snobbery, staff stealing, and secret affairs that unfold in the back of the house.

Britt and Leo have spent ten years running Winesap, the best restaurant in their small Pennsylvania town. They cater to their loyal customers; they don't sleep with the staff; and business is good, even if their temperamental pastry chef is bored with making the same chocolate cake night after night. But when their younger brother, Harry, opens his own restaurant—a hip little joint serving an aggressive lamb neck dish—Britt and Leo find their own restaurant thrown off-kilter. Britt becomes fascinated by a customer who arrives night after night, each time with a different dinner companion. Their pastry chef, Hector, quits, only to reappear at Harry's restaurant. And Leo finds himself falling for his executive chef-tempted to break the cardinal rule of restaurant ownership. Filled with hilarious insider detail—the one-upmanship of staff meals before the shift begins, the rivalry between bartender and hostess, the seedy bar where waitstaff and chefs go to drink off their workday—Bread and Butter is both an incisive novel of family and a gleeful romp through the inner workings of restaurant kitchens.

Baker & TaylorFraternal feuding ensues when the youngest of three brothers opens a restaurant in competition with his older siblings' establishment in a small Pennsylvania suburb.

Baker & TaylorRunning a successful, ethical restaurant in a small Pennsylvania community, Britt and Leo face a perplexing dilemma when their younger brother, Harry, opens a restaurant nearby and steals their talented pastry chef, a situation that leads to a competitive rivalry and compromised values. By the author of But Not for Long.Running a successful, ethical restaurant in a small Pennsylvania community, Britt and Leo face a perplexing dilemma when their younger brother, Harry, opens a restaurant nearby and steals their talented pastry chef.

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The story of three brothers in the restaurant business, their business and personal lives and their interactions with each other. If you've ever worked in a restaurant, the parts of the book that focus on that are great. The story/plot itself is pleasant and unmemorable.

A family with three sons.
The two older boys own a restaurant – Winesap – in Linden, the town where they grew up, 90 minutes west of Philadelphia.
The younger brother has had a varied career, but returns to Linden so he too can open a restaurant – Stray.
The brothers interact, observing some things about each other, but missing other important details.
Not too much mention of the parents except that:
- the younger son is currently living with them
- they have helped to fund the restaurant start-up
- they were tougher on the older boys
- they aren’t critical
Crisis.
A former GF of the younger brother informs the family that the younger brother needs meds to function.
Oh.
The story seemed disjointed but the descriptions and details of the foods served, the food prep, the restaurant kitchen, the cooks, etc. were really engaging.

This book was okay, For awhile it was interesting to learn about the workings of a restaurant while reading a novel but after a while became repetitive to me. The story was okay, but not a book I will remember. I think if either the story or the restaurant took centre stage it would have been better, but both holding equal sway in the book made it less than captivating.